Nutrition Nut: Suzy's Rebuttle

If you saw poop on your steak, a worm in your apple, or mold on your (not blue) cheese, you'd say, "ew, gross." No wait...you'd say, "what the f***?! There's shit in my steak." Either way, you would put your fork down. We allow ourselves to be blissfully unaware of what we're eating. Unless we can see the "ew gross-ness", we don't care. It crushes my wholefood-, nutrition- loving self (who also likes to get coffee in the West Village) that at some point where our food comes from and what benefits or harm it brings our bodies ceased to matter. And, I hate to crush dreams out there, but we do eat to LIVE. Not a hippie notion--fact.

Anyone who has ever seen me unable to put down my spoon when faced with a bowl of ice cream (or guacamole) can tell you that I am not an advocate for food losing its celebratory and sentimental value. There is nothing survival-focused about my love for red wine, antipasti platters, and the looks on others' faces when they say, "Sweet Baby Jesus, that tastes DELICIOUS." Food brings people together in a way that nothing else in our culture does (clearly, I'm making the leap to count wine as a food here). But when did also caring about how that food will affect your physical and mental function become such a terrible idea? We should always care. I'm not saying that every little morsel you consume has to be the most healthful choice you've ever made, but health and wellness should be major factors each and every time you decide to taste, chew, and swallow.

I am here to put on public record that Brandt does love fruits and vegetables (GASP!). Just as much as I do (GASP! GASP!). In fact, when asked what he would like from the grocery store, vegan things are most often on his list: beets, almonds, oranges (three gasps is excessive, I'm sure you're on to this).

While I don't believe this month-long experiment in veganism will for a lifetime turn me away from yogurt, cheese, and pastries, why not spend a month figuring out how my body fares without animal products? I believe that there are alternatives to eating 24oz (6 day's worth) of meat in one 15 minute period. And my initial thought on this blog was that it would be a good way for us both to be creative in exploring those alternatives. And it also wouldn't hurt to catch Brandt up on vegetables missed during his past few years of ordering beef with a side of bacon.